Back to the, Back to the UK: News round-up

Harry’s Diamond Jubilee tour was too much to keep up with. My eyes barely left Twitter long enough to see to feeding myself much less blog – hence giving up after the Bahamas. I’m still digesting the awesomeness of Jamaica and Brazil. Perhaps I’ll post about those legs come July when it’s hot and news is dragging. As it is I’m still digging up stuff I missed at the time like this great photoset of Harry taking snapshots when he arrived in Brazil. I wonder how many of his personal snapshots include people taking snaps of him? Anyway, until I get nostalgic and decide to wallow in the PH-overdose of the tour, there are plenty of summaries online including the posts on Kelly’s blog. Worth a look.

The Fluff

So what’s happened since then? Lots of clubbing. Which is pretty hilarious since before he came back the tabs were trumpeting that his army bosses were banning him from bars and pubs. Hopefully no publican took that seriously and decided to torch his place for the insurance money in despair because mere hours after returning from South America, Hazza was at the Brompton Club chatting with Missy Percy in a stairwell.

For about 24 hours the press were tripping over themselves wondering who was the new blonde in his life. Understandable since he had just given Seth Doane the sad puppy dog eye treatment in his CBS interview (“I can’t find a girl! Oh noes!”.) But the interwebs kept trying to tell the press to calm themselves, it was only Melissa Percy, true BBB and girl of Tom Van Straubenzee. Duh. Oh, yeah also CHELSY’S BFF! This and the fact that Harry himself wasn’t smoking a cig in the photos were the most important bits to me. Whatever could Missy and Harry have been chatting about? Hmm. Perhaps…

HARRY AND CHELSEY BEING BACK TOGETHER. Maybe. Possibly. The Sun had this bit about his necklace and her blue topaz ring which some watchers say speak to their status and some say mean nothing. Pick your side. (Seriously. Pick a side. This is the type of thing royal fans can come to blows over.) But the Star must have been pleased with themselves as after their bejeweled predictions, more signs popped up: H & C at Princess Eugenie’s birthday party at Windsor on March 23rd (and apparently all over each other) and finally news that Chelsy and Blaise Patrick were no more (or perhaps never were.) Cleared for take off Capt. Wales!

Do I think they’re back together? Perhaps casually the way you do with exes. I think they will be a bonafide couple again before the year’s out but after he’s had his deployment and all the Jubilee craziness is over. Until then they’ll probably keep bumping into each other at parties and clubs, hiding in each other’s trunks, dressing up as the UPS guy with a package, whatever you do to keep on the DL when you’re that famous. Personally, I’m rather agnostic about Chelsy. I wouldn’t mind seeing Harry with a new, true love but that seems less and less likely. And who the hell am I anyway? Get on with it, you crazy kids.

Oh I said clubbing right? Yeah he’s being doing a lot of that this past few weeks. Photos from the above mentioned night at the Brompton, at the Embassy Mayfair the next week, and a week later indulging in a marathon night starting at the Sand’s End in Fulham before hitting Barts on Sloane Ave and winding up with a karaoke lock-in at Bunga Bunga. Phew. That exhausted me just typing it out.

We might get lucky and have a nice round of four weeks of post-party pics as he is reported to be taking another holiday. It seems he has taken a Wizz Air (yes, “wizz”) flight to Romania this morning. His father has property there so it makes sense. As long as it doesn’t turn out like his last Eastern European Vacation. Please Harry, just, no.

Finally, coming in last in the least significant Harry news category, he was seen at the Six Nations England vs. Ireland rugby match on March 16th. What was truly funny about this was all the tweets about Tom Inskip whenever the two of them popped up on the TV. One guy commented that Harry must be pals with Sideshow Bob. Poor Skippy.

The Stuff

Five-hundred plus words of frivolity aside, there has been some substantial news items since he came back from the tour:

Walking With the Wounded

As we speak this wonderful group of guys are halfway up Mount Everest. For quite awhile the rumors kept swirling that he would join them. But some journos reported that CH was saying no off the record. Also, a woman who’s also making the climb claimed via Twitter that she had been misquoted in the Telegraph saying he was expected to climb to base camp. Even with all that it just didn’t make sense considering the timing and danger factor. Although I’m sure he would’ve loved to have joined them.

Moving on up

Max Foster was the first to report that Harry was indeed moving from Clarence House to Kenisngton Palace. At the moment he’s supposedly occupying a small, former servant’s apartment. But he’ll be moving into the Nottingham Cottage Will & Kate have been occupying while they wait for Princess Margaret’s old digs to be refurbished. It all makes sense – a little more room and independence for all involved. So it was extra annoying how many press pieces insisted they were moving in together. Granted, we don’t know where his temporary “royal bedsit” is but based on this map from the DM, when the final moves are made they won’t even be next door neighbors.

order of the garter

While he was still in South America there was the suggestion that he would be made a Knight of the Garter this year. William was knighted in 2008 and while there’s never really been a question that Harry would join the Most Noble Order it was more a matter of when. There can’t be a better time now that Harry has represented HM so ably abroad and that he has completed his Apache training. This is one of the few honors chosen personally, and solely, by HM, so nobody can say for sure yet whether his time has come. New Knights are announced on St. George’s Day, April 23rd so stay tuned. Learn more about this oldest British Order of Chivalry at the official British Monarchy website.

Documentaries and interviews

The beginning of 2012 has truly seen us blessed with a cornucopia of Harry goodness, so much so that I fear the rest of the year may be as parched as a Texan summer. *tears hit the keyboard* But instead let us review some of the best bits we’ve been given these past few weeks and take a second, or third, look at the following:

Max Foster presented a brilliant doc for CNN, “The Royals: Harry the Solider Prince” viewable in three parts on CNN’s site. I believe Max will be producing more in this series on other members of the RF for the Jubilee.

Finally, here’s a sweet little film from Channel 4’s First Cut, “Marrying Prince Harry” (UK only.) @HWalesWatch contributed a bit to this so I might be biased.

That’s a lot for roughly six weeks of Harry news, eh? If the rest of 2012 is like this, should be a banner year.